THE NORTH BAY, ONTARIO, FIRE DEPARTMENT IS MINUS ONE EMERGENCY VEHICLE for the rest of this week.

The Ontario Provincial Police have seized their Emergency/Rescue Response truck after the driver was cited under the Street Racing law for driving more than 40 mph over the speed limit while not on an emergency.

The O. P. P. issued this press release on Friday:

On October 16th, 2008, at approximately 6:30 pm, the officer was travelling on Highway 63 when he observed a vehicle overtake another vehicle near the crest of a hill. The vehicle was travelling in excess of 70 km/h of the posted speed limit. The driver, a fireman, was operating a Fire Department Emergency/Rescue Response vehicle, GMC Yukon. He was not responding to an emergency call at the time.

As a result of his actions, John P. DANDY, 31 years old of Kipawa, Quebec, was charged under the Street Racing Legislation, s.172 and with Drive left of center – approaching crest of grade, s. 149 of the Highway Traffic Act. His driver’s licence was seized and suspended for 7 days as well as the Fire Department Emergency/Rescue Response vehicle was towed and also seized for 7 days.

Not mentioned are Dandy’s chances for promotion anytime soon.

North Bay Fire Dept. WEBSITE.

FOUR UPSTATE NEW YORK FIRE DEPARTMENTS in the Syracuse area have taken the first step to consolidate their operations.  The villages of Manlius and Fayetteville, along with the towns of Manlius and Pompey, have approved measures to consider forming a joint fire district.

The mayors and fire chiefs are united in wanting to go forward and are asking the citizens to support the plan.  The four departments would operate as one, covering the territory without boundaries and sharing the costs of purchasing all equipement and apparatus. 

While each existing dept. would still maintain some individuality and have their own chief, all of them would be structured under a newly created fire commission that would determine policy and operations for the joint department.  Volunteers would be supervised by their respective vol. chiefs, but the paid firefighters would be directly under the fire commission.

The Syracuse Post-Standard has a REPORT.
WSYR-TV Ch.9 has this video report:

Manlius Fire Dept. WEBSITE.

HEATHER WESTPHAL, MANAGER OF MEMBERSHIP MARKETING for the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), was killed along with her sister-in-law on Sunday in Hawaii.  They and other members of their family were on vacation and were all walking along a ledge fronting the Pacific Ocean when a huge wave broke over the cliff and carried the two women out to sea, killing them immediately.

Westphal, 33, had been working for IAFC since February, 2007.

STATter911 has the full STORY HERE.
Billy Goldfeder, who was acquainted with her, shares his first thoughts at FirefighterCloseCalls HERE.

AUTO TRAFFIC PASSING BY FIRE STATION 2 in Bixby, Oklahoma, like everywhere else, just keeps getting worse.  “As the day progresses, so does the speed of the traffic,” said Fire Chief, Steve Abel. Abel said between 5-7 p.m., when people are headed home from work, is the worst and most dangerous time of day.

Getting onto the highway after pulling out of the station has become more hazardous for both the cars and the fire trucks, so the fire department has installed new warning lights.

Neighbor Newspapers photo

When the FD starts to respond to an emergency, they activate the flashing lights to alert drivers that the apparatus is coming out onto the highway.  “We’re not putting the lights there so we can pull out in front of people,” said Abel.  “They are expected to alert the driving public so there will be no accidents.”

Each FD vehicle has a remote controller to turn the lights off after they clear the intersection.

The Bixby Bulletin carried the STORY.

THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA, NEAR SAN DIEGO, announced Wednesday that they had hired a new fire chief.  The city had been searching for nine months to fill the $161,000 per year position after their former chief retired.

Stephen Jeff Piechura, current chief of the Northwest Fire/Rescue District near Tucson, Arizona,  was selected for the job and accepted it.

Chief Piechura

But on Thursday, just one day after the city’s announcement, Piechura submitted his resignation saying that it wouldn’t be in the best interest of his family to make the move. 

While some are speculating that his doubt about being able to sell his home in Arizona is part of his decision to renege, Scott Lewis of the alternative newspaper Voice of San Diego writes, “Anyone taking a management position at the city of Chula Vista right now is basically like a customer ordering a big crap sandwich from a rundown little diner. Not sure if it was realizing this that influenced his decision.”

The San Diego Union-Tribune has the latest REPORT.

THE EAST LIVERPOOL, OHIO, CITY COUNCIL held its weekly meeting Monday night and heard a variety of tales about a recent house fire.

A resident who was addressing the council was telling about a fire at his home the previous week that started in his garage and caused considerable damage to his house and also his neighbor’s.  His first complaint was that only 2 firefighters showed up to the fire.  Later that evening a fire dept. spokesman said that there were actually three.  (Firegeezer suspects that he was including an officer who responded individually.  The city operates four fire stations with TWO firefighters on duty in each one.  The FD has been paid-only since 1896.)

Engine 1 (quint)

But when help was found to be needed, the FD called a “2nd alarm” and then another 10 minutes later the “3rd alarm” was called bringing the total of firefighters on the scene to 8.

Apparently there is an underlying controversy going on in the town about the need to hire more FF’s or start supplementing the existing force with volunteers.  There is a fire tax levy question on next month’s ballot.  One of the councilmenBrian Kerr, stated that,  “There is no way a volunteer fire department would work in East Liverpool.  The town would burn to the ground.”

Fire Chief Gerald Barcus is trying to get the council to add firefighters to the roster.  The Review reports:

If a volunteer had to leave home, go to the station, wait for a sufficient number of fellow firefighters and then respond to a fire, the delay would be costly, according to the chief.

“Do you think it would be one building (that burned)?” Barcus asked council. “No. It would be a whole city block,” he answered.

It’s getting hot in East Liverpool.  This will be an interesting debate to follow.  Read the entire article in the East Liverpool Review HERE.

East Liverpool Fire Department WEBSITE.

THE KINGSVILLE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT, located at the northeast tip of Ohio in Ashtabula County, is undergoing some turmoil.  Recently, a member has taken to leveling charges against the fire chief and the ass’t. chief of EMS for a smorgasbord of complaints dating back several months and in some cases, more than a year.

The fire chief Chip Laugen and the EMS head Angie Cliff were placed on administrative leave pending investigation into 14 allegations including charges of inadequate maintenance of fire apparatus, personal use of department equipment, misuse of payroll, allowing drinking in the fire department, and yelling profanities at “employees.”

Cliff was reinstated on Sept. 21 after it was determined that there were no basis for the allegations against her.  This Wednesday at 7 pm there will be a public hearing on the charges against the chief.

Now the membership, that is comprised of 32 volunteer FF’s and EMS techs., has made public notice that if any disciplinary action is taken against the chief, then at least half of the membership will resign immediately.

The Ashtbula Star-Beacon spells out the details HERE.

THE LAKE FOREST VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT. IN BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, was built in 1964.  Two men in the unincorporated community mortgaged their homes to raise the funds for a building and the new VFD was born.  For 30 years they served the community while they were the community, much the same as local VFD’s everywhere.

Sun-Sentinal

During that time the members had committed to maintaining a minimum of three people on duty at the station 24 hrs. a day.  While they had raised the funds for their first trucks, in 1980 Broward County gave them a 1,250 gpm pumper to operate.  The county also stationed an air support unit there which was on call for fires anywhere in the county.

But in 2005 Lake Forest was incorporated into the city of West Park and Broward County Fire-Rescue took over the primary responsibility for fire protection.  After that, the LFVFD was used as an auxiliary unit.  Then earlier this year the BCFR advised them that this year they would be decommissioned completely.

On September 30 the county arrived at the station and removed the three fire vehicles, the 1980 pumper, a brush truck, and the air unit, along with the hose, radios and equipment.  The VFD owns the building which has a community hall that is still used, but they will either have to sell it or come up with some other way to pay the bills.

The Sun-Sentinal has the full story along with a video report HERE.